Am I Going to Heaven? (How to Have Confidence)
My friend looks at me through watery eyes and asks, “Am I going to heaven? I’m so scared that I won’t make it in.”
She just lost a loved one. In her grief, she’s been thinking about eternal life.
“I’ve always tried to be a good person,” she adds. “Do you think I’ve been good enough?”
I wish I could tell her that being a good person is enough to get into heaven. I wish I could tell her that a vague belief that all pathways lead to God is enough, but I can’t lie.
In response, I open up and tell her my story.
Am I Going to Heaven?
I was 14 years old when I stumbled into a Scripture verse I that grabbed my heart: “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me’” (John 14:6).
It was a decision point.
Either Jesus was just a fanatic who falsely claimed to be the Messiah, or he was the Son of God and the only pathway to God.
That summer, I came to believe that Jesus was (and is) the Son of God. I received him as my Lord and Savior and committed to following him.
How to Get Into Heaven
I came to this conclusion by studying the following biblical truths:
1. No one is “good enough” to get into heaven by being a good person.
The Bible reminds us in Romans 3:23 that we all fall short of being “good enough” to earn our way to heaven.
We have all sinned and fallen short of God’s perfect standards.
None of us are good enough to earn our way into heaven.
2. We need a Savior.
We can’t earn our way to heaven by making sure good deeds outweigh bad deeds. We can’t give up swearing or lying or cheating or gossiping and suddenly feel confident of our eternity with God.
We’re broken people, and we need someone to save us from ourselves.
We all need a Savior.
3. God is just, and he has to punish sin.
God is good. Because he is a good judge, he is also just. He cannot let sin go overlooked.
Before Jesus came, God’s followers sacrificed animals to make payment for their sins. It was bloody, but the blood was an indication of just how serious sin is. Sin is so serious that there must be payment, and if there is no payment, an eternity in hell awaits.
4. Jesus took the punishment we deserve when he died on the cross.
Jesus died on the cross so that God would punish him instead of punishing us. He did away with the old system in which animals had to be sacrificed to pay for sins. This is why he is the “Spotless Lamb of God.”
God punished Jesus instead of punishing you and me.
Astonishing.
I wouldn’t send my precious children to die in the place of anyone on this earth. But this is how God showed us just how much he loves us. He willingly sent his Son to die as a demonstration of his love.
5. You can know you are going to heaven by asking Jesus to save you.
It sounds too simple. In our humanness, we feel a deep need to prove our goodness and earn our way into heaven.
This is where grace comes into play. Grace is a free gift. You don’t deserve it and cannot earn it. It is given because of love.
Because of love, Jesus paid the price for your sins.
Because of love, he died on the cross for you.
He would have died on the cross even if you were the only one on earth.
You can rest assured that you will go to heaven if you believe he died on the cross for you and that he rose from the dead to prove that he is indeed God’s Son. Tell him you believe, ask him to forgive you for your sins, and make a decision today to live for him.
Romans 10:9 tells us that if we confess with our mouths and believe with our hearts, we will be saved. If you have never professed belief in Jesus, tell him today. Thank him for dying in your place and ask him to be the Master of your life.
Am I Going to Heaven?
I close with a story for you today and pray that these words will touch your heart as you sense God’s pursuit of you.
I gave my life to Christ in the middle of a time when I was caught up in partying and making immoral decisions. I didn’t know how to stop or change my behavior. However, I also knew that I wasn’t living the life I desired.
I turned to Jesus, asked him to help me, and committed to following him with my whole heart.
Since that time, Christ has radically changed my life in wonderful and surprising ways.
Maybe you’ve been wrestling with the idea of surrendering your life to Jesus, too. Perhaps you’ve done unspeakable things, and you’re sure Jesus won’t accept you. You might be afraid that Jesus will ask you to walk away from something you’re not ready to give up just yet.
Turn to Jesus in the Middle of Your Mess
Sadly, when we think we need to have our lives together before coming to Jesus, we have it backward.
Jesus wants us to run to him in our messiness, brokenness, and sinfulness, and he will do the work of helping us honor him with our choices. This is a process, and it rarely happens overnight. It takes time, and the longer we seek Jesus, the more he works in our lives to help us become more like him.
Today, I gently invite you to consider where you are with Jesus.
If you know that you’ve received Jesus as your Savior, I pray that you will continue to surrender every area of your life to him as you trust him to guide you.
Conversely, if you’ve never surrendered your life to Christ and received his gift of salvation, I encourage you to take this step today. Jesus has been pursuing you all of your life, and he is pursuing you at this very moment.
If you sense that Jesus is pursuing you and asking you to follow him, begin by humbly admitting that you need him. Tell him that you realize you have sinned and fallen short of God’s perfect standards.
Then, tell him that you believe that he died on the cross to take the punishment you deserve. Instead of punishing you through eternal separation, God loves you so much that he punished his precious Son in your place.
When Jesus died on the cross, he received the punishment you deserve. By believing that he took your place and receiving his free gift of salvation, you can be saved.
The Gift of Salvation
You can’t do anything to earn this salvation. You only need to believe that Jesus died for you and receive him as your Savior. You can pray a prayer similar to this as a way of affirming your commitment: “Jesus, I believe that you died in my place, and I receive this gift. Thank you for forgiving my sins. I want to follow you. Come into my life and be my Lord and my Guide.”
Jesus is pursuing you. Turn to him. His love will transform your heart and your life.
As for me, Jesus has changed my life in remarkable ways. After surrendering to him, our relationship continued to strengthen and grow. His love empowered me to make slow changes over time. I now look back and hardly recognize the woman I once was.
The same can be true for you.
How will you respond to Jesus today?
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